''Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party'' is a 2005

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about character actor

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor and writer. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television ch ...

in which he tells stories from his life. The actor, who is usually in a supporting role, takes center stage in the 87-minute

birthday party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

Plot

The film opens on a beach in Malibu, where Tobolowsky recounts a miraculous swim he took on an earlier birthday. It continues in the kitchen of his home, as he boils sausages for his guests and recounts stories about his early auditions in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. After some stories in the backyard, where he is grilling the sausages, the guests arrive. Then Stephen entertains his guests with stories about being nominated as one of 100 coolest people in LA, being in a

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

band, and working on such films as '' Bird on a Wire'' and ''

Mississippi Burning ''Mississippi Burning'' is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo that is loosely based on the 1964 investigation into the deaths of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars ...

''. The film ends in the dark of night with a few leftover guests in his candlelit backyard and a tribute to his close friend Bob Darnell. Among the guests at the party are the actors

Mena Suvari Mena Alexandra Suvari (; born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. The accolades she has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime ...

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received List of awards and nom ...

, and his wife, Ann Hearn.

Technical

''Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party'' was shot with Clairmont Camera modified Sony F900/3 cameras in HD, edited on a Dual G5 Apple computer and finished in HD at Sunset Digital in Los Angeles. It was produced, directed and shot by Robert Brinkmann. Andrew Putschoegl was the co-producer. The film was edited by Andrew Putschoegl and Robert Brinkmann. Stephen Tobolowsky performs the music.

History

''Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party'' premiered at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen in 2005. It was shown at festivals all over the world, including the World Film Festival in Montreal, Raindance Film Festival in London, SXSW in Austin, Cinequest in San Jose, the Milwaukee International Film Festival, RiverRun, Atlanta, San Francisco, Jacksonville and many more. It won the Deffie Award for Best Documentary from the HD Fest film festival in December 2005. The DVD was released on May 30, 2006, which is also Stephen Tobolowsky's 55th birthday.

References

External links

Official website
*{{IMDb title, id=0437489, title=Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party
DVD Journal article
by Mark Bourne 2005 films Documentary films about actors 2000s English-language films English-language documentary films